Board game apparatus



Jan. 5, 1943.

A. e. STENB ERG BOARD GAME- APPARATUS Filed Dec. 18 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.9.

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BOARD GAME APPARATUS Filed Dec. 18,1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 & I

WES T I INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE This invention relates to a board game apparatus, and is intended to provide a game which is both educational and entertaining. The scheme of play combines the mathematical process of long division with economic trading or bartering. The game is educational in the mathematical sense by testing the players ability to perform long division correctly and by penalizing the players for arithmetical errors. It is also educational from the economic standpoint by placing a premium on successful trading between the players, by emphasizing economic classifications of expenditures, and by directing attention to certain other incidents of business or economics. The entertainment aspect of the game results from the competitive desire amongst players to attain the highest score in the manner which presently will be made apparent.

The preferred form of the apparatus for the game is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a plan view of the board, or what will be referred to herein as the general depository chart, the shading thereon and throughout the drawings illustrating colors in accordance with the Rules of Practice of the United States Patent Office;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the board or general depository chart of Fig. 1 combined with a squared-off playing area, before play is commenced;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a scoring card, or what will be referred to herein as a savings chart on which each player deposits cards which he has acquired by trading;

Fig. 4 represents one set of nine trading pieces or trading cards which are numbered consecutively from 1 to 9 inclusive, the number appearing twice on each card, in the upper half and in the lower half of the card;

Figs. 5 and 6 represent small tokens of differing colors and shapes (referred to herein as cost men), the shading in Fig. 5 illustrating the color pink, and the shading in Fig. 6 illustrating the color yellow;

Figs. 7 to 17, inclusive, and Fig. 19, represent playing pieces or commodity cards, each of which carries a numeral in the upper half of the card and a name designation on the lower half of the card which represents a recognized item of expense in family life for which income may be expended;

Fig. '7 represents three commodity cards bearingthe designation Sports and numbered consecutively 1 to 3 inclusive. Fig. 8 represents three commodity cards bearing the designation Travel and numbered consecutively 1 to 3 inclusive. Fig. 9 represents three commodity cards consecutively numbered and bearing the designation Theatre. All of the cards represented in Figs. '7 to 9 inclusive have indicia thereon which may be considered generally to fall within the budgeting item of Amusement and shall be considered as a group under this heading in the description which follows.

Fig. 10 represents six cards bearing the notation Car and numbered consecutively 1 to'6 inclusive. Fig. 11 represents six cards similarly numbered and bearing the notation Gas. Fig. 12 represents six cards consecutively numbered and bearing the notation Garage. All of the cards illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12 inclusive may be considered as falling within the budgeting category of Luxury, and in the description which follows this caption shall be applied to cards as a group.

Fig. 13 represents nine commodity cards consecutively numbered 1 to 9 inclusive and bearing the distinguishing name Clothing. Fig. 14 represents nine consecutively numbered commodity cards bearing the notation Food; and Fig. 15 represents a like number of cards bearing the notation Shelter. All of the cards represented in Figs. 13 to 15 inclusive may be considered to fall within the budgeting expense item of Home, and in the description which follows shall be referred to under this heading as a group.

Fig. 16 represents nine commodity cards conthese secutively numbered 1 to 9 inclusive and bearing the distinguishing name Stocks. Fig. 17 is a like set of similarly numbered cards bearing the notation Bonds, and Fig. 19 is a like set of similarly numbered cards bearing the notation Loans. All of the cards in Figs. 16, 17 and 19 may be considered as falling under the heading Security in a budgeting system and shall be referred to under this heading as a group in the description which follows.

Fig. 18 represents twenty-five playing pieces which bear the notation r V O Fig. 20 is a plan View of a table top showing all of the pieces of the board game apparatus and an actual game in course of play.

Before describing the game in detail, reference will first be made to certain of its salient features. The scheme of play follows the wellknown rules of arithmetical long division. Each player is furnished with nine consecutively numbered trading cards (as shown in Fig. 4), and also is dealt nine random playing pieces or commodity cards from the previously shufiied pack of commodity cards (shown in Figs. 7 to 19 inclusive), the latter pack also including the twenty-five cards marked The first player places three commodity cards on the spaces to the left of the solid black line on the general depository chart shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the numbers of these cards constitute the divisor in the long division operation. The second player places three or four commodity cards to the right of the solid black line on the, same chart and these numbers constitute the dividendit being apparent of course that the dividend numerals when read together must have a higher numerical value than the divisor. The third player then proceeds with the division and places'a commodity card in the quotient space of the general depository chart which represents the number of times which the divisor will go into the dividend. Each succeeding player then continues with the dividing process by placing on the board commodity cards bearing the correct numbers. After each turn the players draw additional commodity cards from the pack. A penalty is provided for arithmetical errors, which lends to the game an educational advantage without detracting from its entertainment features.

The game also features economic trading by including in its scheme of play the substitution of trading cards for commodity cards which have already been played on the board. Each player before proceeding with the long division has the right to remove from the board any commodity card and substitute for it one of his trading cards of like number. The commodity card thus obtained is placed on the savings chart (Fig. 3) of that player on the space carrying a, like designation to that which appears on the commodity card. The names appearing on the savings charts are arranged in vertical or columnar groupings identical to the groupings referred to above in the short description of Figs. '7 to 19. As seen in Fig. 3, and reading from left to right,

column one is the Amusement grouping, column two is the Luxury grouping, column three is the Home grouping, and column four is the Security grouping. 'The game provides a premium in scoring for the player who by judicious trading with the board is able to acquire on his savings chart a commodity card for each of the three spaces in any one column, and who also has the highest total numerical value for the cards in that column.

Another entertaining feature of the game results from the introduction of the element of chance for penalizing the unlucky player. In its preferred form the rules of the game contemplate a continuation of the process oflong division until the supply of commodity cards bearing the number which should next be played has been exhausted. The game also provides a chance box on the general depository chart, to the right of the dividend which comprises a series of squares consecutively numbered from 1 to 9 inclusive. When a player makes an arithmetical error in division or is unable to play in turn, he is obliged to place one of his distinctive tokens or cost men on one of the chance squares, selecting any number from 1 to 9 which has not been previously taken by another player. If the long division should terminate because of the exhaustion of the supply of commodity cards bearing the number 5, for instance, the player who selected this number in the chance box would be obliged to take in his own hand all of the cost men appearing on the other numbers, and each of the men thus acquired will constitute penalties and will be deducted from his score. I have found that the numbers 1, 2 and 3 occur more frequently in the long division process than do the numbers '7, 8 and 9. I have also found that the numbers 4, 5 and 6 appear more frequently than the numbers 7, 8 and 9, but less frequently than the numbers 1, 2 and 3. In order, therefore, to equalize the chances of any one number being exhausted during the course of the division, I have provided 12 commodity cards for each of the numbers 1, 2 and 3; nine commodity cards each bearing the numbers 4, 5 and 6; and six commodity cards each bearing the numbers '7, 8 and 9.. It has been found that the ratio 4 to 3 to 2 which thus exists between the total quantity of low numbered cards,

intermediately numbered cards and high numbered cards, equalizes the chances of exhaustion of any one number, and .in actual play no one number has run out more frequently than any other number. In order to eliminate the possibility that zeros might be exhausted first, a supply of twenty-five cards marked are provided in the preferred form of the game, and these have been found to be adequate to eliminate this possibility.

In order further to prevent premature exhaustion of any one number and to equalize the chances of all players, the preferred form of the invention contemplates that the first player who selects the divisor shall not use all even numbered or all odd numbered cards, and that the unit number in the divisor shall not be a zero or a five.

I have also found that premature termination of the long division will not occur if the selec tion of the dividend is limited by two rules, to wit; (a) that any single numeral appearing in the divisor shall not be used in the dividend; and (b) that the numbers appearin in the hundreds, tens and units positions must correspond odd for odd and even for even with the hundreds, tens and units numbers of the divisor. In the preferred form of the game the rules so provide.

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of the game in its preferred form, as shown therein, it will be observed that Figure'20 illustrates a game in progress in which four players are taking part. For convenience, these players shall be referred to by the designations north, east, south and west, although it should be noted that the number of players is not restricted to four. Each player receives a savings chart A (Fig. 3); nine consecutively numbered trading cards B (Fig. 4) nine cost men of a distinctive color (Figs. 5 and 6), and is dealt at random nine commodity cards (Figs. 7 to 19, inclusive) from the previously shufiied pack. The remainder of the pack C is placed face down on the playing area as shown in Fig. 20. The'general depository chart D is placed at the head of the table, or it may be combined with a playing area which has been previously squared offin the manner shown in Fig. 2 at E.

Playis commenced by each player withdrawing one card from the commodity deck, the one 'ments.

drawing the cardwith the highest numeral having the right to play first. The play thenproceeds in clock-wis rotation as shown in Fig. 20. The first player selects the divisor -by-placing three commodity cards on the spaces a, b and c in Figs. 1 and 2, the only limitations placedon his selection of numerals being those previously mentioned, i. e., that the divisor shall not consist of all even-numbered or all odd-numbered cards, and that the unit card which will be'placed on space c shall not be a zero or a five.-;-- Having made his initial play the firstplayer withdraws two commodity cards from the pack C, as does each player in rotation as he completes his turn. The second player selects the dividend and places three or four commodity cards on the spaces 1, e, f and g on the general depository chart shown in Figs. 1 and 2, subject to the two limitations previously mentioned for the purpose of preventing premature termination of the long division, and subject to the additional requirement that the dividend shall constitute a number larger than the divisor. As seen in'Fig. 20, the first player selected 504 as the divisor and the second player chose 726 as the dividend. These two plays comply with all of the foregoing require- The third player then proceeds with the division and puts a commodity card bearing the appropriate numeral on the first quotient space 72. of the general depository chart. He also places one of his distinctively colored cost men on the quotient card thus played, for identification purposes. He continues to play by multiplying the quotient by the divisor and playing the appropriate cards from his hand, placing them on the spaces 7', k, Z and m in this order, as shownin Fig. 2. He continues with the dividing process until he can no longer play and then withdraws two commodity cards from the pack. As seen in Fig. 20, the third player divided 504 into 726 and placed appropriately numbered card Z in the quotient on the space h. He also placed cards 4, 0, on the spaces :i, k and Z. The next player then subtracted 504 from 726 and placed cards having appropriate numerical markings on spaces long as possible from the cards he holds in his hand and then withdraws two cards from the commodity deck C.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 20, it will be observed that the game there shown in course of l The first player. is north, who has on the table before him a savings progress has four players.

chart A, a supply of commodity cards G, and a supply of trading cards B. He also has cost men H which are distinctively. colored yellow. He selected the divisor 504. The second player, east, 2

has similar equipment with blue cost men. He selected the dividend 726. The third player, south, supplied the first numeral of the quotient which was I, and placed on this card one of his pink cost men. The fourth player, west, has similar equipment, with the exception that his cost men are colored green. South, in addition to placing the first number in the quotient on the space h, also continued the division by placing cards 4, 0, 5, on spaces a, k and Z, respectively. West continued the dividing process by supplying cards for the spaces 12, p and q, but was unable to continue, having no zeros. North supplied the zero for the space 1' and then supplied the Second number in the quotient which is 4 .fTravel space at v.

on the space snorth, of course, placing one of his yellow-colored cost men on the quotient commodity card which be supplied.

The division continues in this fashion until the supply of commodity cards bearing a'particular number has been exhausted and the division can no longer proceed because the next card to be played should bear the exhausted numeral.

viously explained, the player selecting in the chance box the number which is exhausted in the dividing process is penalized, and is required to take into his own hand all of the cost men in the'chance box. These constitute losses in the finalscoring. In Fig. 20 it will be observed that South with his pink-colored cost men took two chances; 'numbers 1 and 8 respectively, either for arithmetical errors or for inability to play in turn; North took two chances, numbers 2 and 6; east took'two chances numbers 7 and 9; and

west took two chances numbers 3 and 4. As west selected the number 4 which actually ran out, he is obliged to take into his hand all of the cost men in the chance box.

During the course of play,"each player before continuing with the division has the privilege of substituting one of his trading cards for a like numbered commodity card in the trading area. The latter area includes all of the cards played below the general depository chart D, but does not include the divisor, the dividend'or the quotient. All commodity cards, thus traded and acquired by the individual players are placed on their savings charts A, on the spaces bearing designations' identical with those which appear on the commoditycards. It will thus be seen that west substituted the trading card marked 5 for the card marked 5-bonds which had appeared on the space I, and in turn placed it on his-savings chart A over the word- Bonds at spaceu. North substituted the trading card for the commodity card 2-travel which had appeared o the space marked q in the trading area, and-placed it on his savings chart A on the From an examination of the several savings charts, it will be observed that other trades were made during the course of play. A trade is considered the equivalent of a move.

In making trades the player should adhere to certain additional rules, which are: If the player already has a commodity card on a designated space on his savings chart and is able to obtain a higher numbered card bearing the same designation, he can substitute the higher card for chart, for the'reason thatonly groupings count in the ultimate score.

When the division has terminated as shown in Fig. because of the exhaustion of one number, the play continues in rotation and eaoh'player is permitted to make additional trades with the board. He is also permitted at this time to reverse the trading process and substitute commodity cards from his hand for trading cards of like number on the board, and in his next turn he would then be able to substitute the newly acquired trading card for a like numbered commodity card bearing a different designation which would then be placed on his savings chart. This would be illustrated by the player east substituting the commodity card G-car from his hand for the trading card marked at w on the playing area, in the hope that on the next round he will be able to acquire "ii-food on the space marked a: and place it on the space marked Food. If he can similarly acquire a Shelter commodity card he will then have completed his "Home column indicated generally at M.

All of the cards in the quotient have scoring value and the quotient, therefore, is referred to as the gains column. When the dividingprocess is completed each player transfers his cards from the quotient or gains column to his savings chart and takes into his hand the identify ing cost men. Any high numbered cards thus acquired could be substituted on the chart for a lower numbered card bearing the same notation. North, for instance, could substitute 7- shelter from the quotient for 6-shelter on his chart and take the latter card into his hand for additional trading purposes.

Trading continues as long as trades may be made by any of the players.- Then each player who has succeeded in filling all of the spaces in a columnar group totals the numerical value for that particular group. The one having the highest numerical value in a particular group such for instance as Luxury would be entitled to place a cost man on each card in that group. This may be interpreted from the economic sense as cost plus profit for successful trading. Those players who have been unable to complete a vertical column must take into their hands the cards which appear on the incomplete columns and these cards constitute losses attributable to unsuccessful trading. 1

In the final computation of profit and loss, cost men and commodity cards on the savings chart will have a scoring value, which may be ten points for the cards and five points for the cost men. Cost men and commodity cards in hand represent losses resulting from unsuccessful trading, and hence a similar loss value for each of them will be deducted from the profits shown byeach individual player. The one having the highest net profit will be the winner. Trading cards have no scoring value.

For the convenience of the players, it will be observed that each space on the savings chart A carries a small numeral in the upper left hand corner which indicates the highest numbered commodity card which is outstanding bearing a like designation. Thus, it will be seen that the space marked Garage carries the number 6 which indicates that "G-garage would be the highest card for this item.

It will also be observed that the game as thus described combines many features which resemble economic. trading. The trading cards constitute a, medium of exchange which may be considered the equivalent of money; incomplete trading in any one group results in a loss; completion of a column in any one group constitutes successful trading and yields a profit; and completion of a column with the highest numerical value constitutes most successful trading and entitles the player to an additional profit by adding to each such card a cost man having additional scoring value.

By the selection of suitable designations the game also can emphasize various classifications of household expenditures, which serves to acquaint immature players with economic classifications or fundamentals of budgeting.

While the board game apparatus of the present invention has been described in its preferred embodiment, it will be apparent that some or all of the features of the present invention may be varied without departing from its spirit or from the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a board game apparatus including distinctive tokens for each player, in combination, a plurality of playing pieces each bearing a numeralfrom zero to nine, in which the number of pieces bearing the numerals 1, 2 and 3 are in excess of those bearing the numerals 4, 5 and 6 in substantially the ratio of 4:3, and in which the number of the latter exceeds the numberof those bearing the numerals 7, 8 and 9 in substantially the ratio of 3:2, said pieces being adapted for use as the numerals in carrying forward a long division operation, and to'provide substantially equal chances of exhaustion of the supply of any one numeral in such operation; and a board bearing numerals from one to nine on which each player may indicate with his distinctive token the numeral expected to be exhausted first.

' ALVIN G. STENBERG. 

